''Arc the Lad'' is a strategy RPG series developed by Creator/WorkingDesigns, and Creator/{{Sony}}'s answer to ''VideoGame/TacticsOgre'' and ''VideoGame/ShiningForce''.

'''Video-games in the series:'''* ''Arc the Lad'' (1995) [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation PS1]] -- A fun, albeit short T-RPG, which followed the adventures of a young lad called Arc Ricolne and his [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits six traveling companions]].* ''Arc the Lad II'' (1996) [=PS1=] -- A direct sequel, follows the adventures of Elc, a bounty hunter who is the last survivor of a nation of [[ElementalPowers fire users]] slaughtered by Seirya, the country Arc hails from. Being longer, more complex, and infinitely DarkerAndEdgier than the previous episode, ''Arc'' 2 [[TrueArtIsAngsty has been lauded as the supreme game in the series]] and a legitimate contender for the title of "game with the most {{Player Punch}}es thrown."* ''Arc Arena: Monster Tournament'' (1997) [=PS1=]* ''Arc the Lad III'' (1999) [=PS1=] -- Takes place a few decades after the end of ''Arc 2''.* ''Arc the Lad: Resurrection of the Machine God'' (2002) Wonderswan Color -- [[invoked]][[NoExportForYou Japan only]].* ''VideoGame/ArcTheLadTwilightOfTheSpirits'' (2003) [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 PS2]] -- Follows a thousand years after the original trilogy.* ''Arc The Lad: End of Darkness'' (2004) [=PS2=] -- Unlike the previous games is an ActionRPG.* Sony announced in 2016 another game being developed by the studio [=ForwardWorks=], for Android and {{iOS|Games}}.

The last two are considered by some fans to be inferior, but still decent games, while most of the negative criticism directed towards the series falls upon ''End of Darkness''.

While the games were not released outside of Japan at first, Working Designs made a box set of the first three games along with ''Arc Arena'' for the [=PlayStation=] in 2002. A 26 episode anime ''Arc the Lad'' based on the first two games ran from 1998-1999, it was animated by Creator/BeeTrain and directed by Itsuro Kawasaki.

----!!This video-game series provides examples of:

* AerithAndBob: Most of the main cast's names are equally out-there, but important supporting characters such as Elena and Danny play it straight.* ArchaicWeaponForAnAdvancedAge: The setting's relatively modern, but there sure are a lot of swordfighting heroes.* TheAnimeOfTheGame: 26 episodes long and based on ''Arc'' II.* AncientConspiracy: The BigBad being an EldritchAbomination with MindControl powers, the ancient conspiracy was unavoidable, and the [[BigBad Dark One]] is ''good'' at this.* AndTheAdventureContinues: The ending of ''Arc'' 1. (''Arc'' 2 shows exactly how it continues.)* AngstComa: At the end of the [[spoiler: White House story arc]], Elc [[spoiler: ends up at the ground zero of an explosion which leave him half dead]]. While [[spoiler: {{Ku|ngFuWizard}}kuru]] manages to heal his physical wounds, he remains comatose as a result of [[spoiler: the guilt he feels from being unable to protect/avenge his tribe nor save Mariel from the White House]].* AntiHero: Arc Ricolne is very pragmatic, and will do whatever it takes to defeat Romalia, and while he does not willingly target civilians, he shows little concern for collateral damage when he or one of his allies start to blow things up.* ApocalypseHow: Scope: planetary. Severity: societal collapse. It happened 3,000 years before the first game. [[spoiler: The reason ''Arc'' 2's ending isn't considered a downer ending is because this time it was only societal disruption]].* AppliedPhlebotinum: The spirit stones are the Arc-verse's main source of energy and the reason behind [[TheEmpire Romalia]]'s wealth and power.* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: In ''Arc 2'' and ''Twilight of the Spirits'' only five characters are allowed on the battlefield at a time. In ''Arc 3'' that number is reduced to four. ''Arc 1'' is the exception, as all playable characters participate in every fight.* ArtStyleDissonance: The characters' designs, especially their sprites, are your average JRPG fare. The story is relentlessly dark.* ArtifactTitle: [[spoiler: Arc dies at the of ''Arc the Lad II'', though the rest of the series is still named after him.]]* AxCrazy: The Slasher, a monstrous serial killer who happens to be [[spoiler: Ginie, one of Elc's childhood friends]].* BackFromTheBrink: [[spoiler: ''Arc'' 3, 4, and 5. The Dark One (Lord of the Black Abyss) may have gained the upper hand again, but our heroes still kick his butt to kingdom come.]]* BackToBackBadasses: Done by Arc and Elc, Shu and Tosh in ''Arc'' 2, and by Kharg and Darc in ''Arc'' 4.%%* BadassAdorable: Choko.* BadassCrew: This IS an EasternRPG series after all. Every new episode comes with a new BadassCrew, and ''Arc'' 2 even has '''two''' crews joining up.* BadassNormal: Tosh does not have the magical abilities of Arc, Gogen or Elc, but he still manages to do just as much damage with his {{Katana|sAreJustBetter}}.* BadassPreacher: Iga, one of Arc's traveling companions, is a monk.* BattleCouple: Arc and Kukuru, Elc & Lieza, Darc & Delma, Shante & Gruga, [[HoYay Tosh & Shu]].* BelligerentSexualTension: Even a blind man could see that Lutz and Cheryl have this.* BigfootSasquatchAndYeti: The Hemo-ji are this, with a heavy helping of UncannyValley thrown in. And your party members can be ''[[StandardStatusEffects turned into them by touch!]]''* BittersweetEnding: ''Arc 2'' would be a DownerEnding in the vast majority of games, [[spoiler: being a PyrrhicVictory in which the only success Elc and the survivors of the party can claim is that they survived TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, and saved some portion of humanity as well. But this was better than anyone expected, and probably the best that humanity could hope to win.]]* BlackAndGrayMorality: The bad guys are genocidal bastards, while Arc is a wanted terrorist by the second game. Keep in mind that this is not just propaganda: Arc Ricolne is very pragmatic, and will do [[IDidWhatIHadToDo whatever it takes]] to defeat Romalia, and while he does not willingly target civilians, he shows little concern for collateral damage when he or one of his allies start to blow things up.* BloodyBowelsOfHell* BreakTheCutie: If a character is cute, he or she will be broken.* BullyingADragon: During the [[MoralEventHorizon slaughter of the Pyrenians]], Seirya's soldiers and researchers find a young Elc who proceeds to burn half a dozen of them to a crisp. The survivors then decide that such a prodigy would make a very good guinea pig. Three guesses at what happens when he turns into an adult...* BurnTheOrphanage: What eventually happens to [[spoiler:the White House]]. In fact, this "{{orphanage|OfFear}}" was so bad that even [[spoiler:slaughtering the children found in the playground]] does not qualifies as a MoralEventHorizon, considering [[spoiler: [[FateWorseThanDeath what had been done]] to them]].* ButForMeItWasTuesday--> '''Arc:''' You... You're the one who killed my father!--> '''Ark Ghoul:''' I have killed many, and your father may have been amongst them. But if I did slay him, his death was so unremarkable that I have no memory of it. But enough talk. It is time for YOUR ignominious end, boy.* TheChessmaster: The BigBad of the series is good. Deep Blue good.* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Unlucky Mariel, just... Mariel. [[spoiler: Elc promised to save her from the White House, but when he finally found her, she was turned into a monster and he had to fight her under the playground where they played when they were kids.]] This is a subversion since Elc quite obviously loves her and is more than ready to reciprocate her affection. [[spoiler: The problem is that he is still forced to kill her, while Gallarno watches him.]]* TheChosenOne: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}. Arc was not chosen by the spirits; Yoshua, his father, contacted them and made a deal with them: they would give Arc control over the elements in order to use him as their proxy. The player is actually told about this before the first battle begins. What's interesting is that it foreshadows the many deconstructions of RPG cliché that will happen later.* CombatMedic: Arc and Poco in the first two games, and Alec and Cheryl in the third.** Most of the characters in ''Twilight of the Spirits'' qualify.* CompilationRerelease: ''Arc the Lad Collection'', natch.* CorruptChurch: When the AncientConspiracy does not [[PathOfInspiration artificially create religions from scratch]], they put their puppets in charge of existing ones.* CosmicKeystone: The five great spirit stones, plus the Ark, which makes six of them.* CowardlyLion: Poco. In his case, the fear inside him boosts his survival instincts and turns a klutz that he is into a badass MagicKnight.* CuteMonsterGirl: Choko.* CutscenePowerToTheMax: Mostly averted: characters who are powerful during cutscenes are powerful during gameplay, but you cannot use Arc or Gogen to blow up buildings when you control them.* DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou: Yoshua, Arc's father, disappeared 10 years before the beginning of ''Arc'' 1. By the end of ''Arc'' 2, we learn that [[spoiler: the spirits granted him the power to time travel, in order to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong. He failed]].* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Arc II'' is much more cynical than ''Arc I''.* DarkMessiah: Arc. He's a genuine MessianicArchetype, but he has very little concern for collateral damage when fighting against the forces of Romalia and the Dark One. [[IDidWhatIHadToDo If civilians are killed when he blows up an enemy facility]], that's one thing he ''won't'' angst about. Romalia intentionally puts their doomsday devices in the middle of population centers, specifically to discredit their enemies. Civilian casualties are inevitable when fighting them.* DefectorFromDecadence: Many examples.** Not ''all'' Romalians are happy about the way their country is [[TheEmpire behaving]], and some form a resistance movement of their own.** Choko may be [[spoiler: a monster created to KillAllHumans]], this does not stop her from becoming the most powerful defender that humanity has.** Darc's companions are composed of Deimos and monsters who hate or at least despise ordinary humans, but [[spoiler: they still choose to side with them against the [[BigBad Dark One]].]]* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Since the BigBad is an EldritchAbomination, this is unavoidable. Yet, unlike most examples of this trope, [[BigBad The Dark One]] is not ''merely'' challenged by a [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits band of plucky heroes]]: it takes, during the course of four games [[spoiler: no less than ''five'' {{Badass Crew}}s including one which fought against it three millennia before the first episode, the HeroicSacrifice of ''two'' messiahs, overpowered mechs, [[DefectorFromDecadence some of the world's most powerful monsters he created who turned against him]], the elemental spirits that completely exhausted their power, and over 4,000 years of struggle to finally -- and barely -- beat him, while civilization is completely wiped once and nearly destroyed twice]]: this one is not an easily beaten EldritchAbomination. * DiscOneNuke: When the team from the first ''Arc the Lad'' show up during the second game, they are vastly more powerful than the other main characters and enemies. To avoid a GameBreaker situation, the plot makes sure you can only have one of them at a time in your team until much later in the game.** If you have a solid knowledge of Synthesis (or a decent FAQ), your trip to Society Village can produce a lot of these in ''Arc'' 3.* DoomedHometown: [[spoiler: Arc's hometown of Touvil is destroyed at the beginning of ''Arc'' 1.]] Elc's whole nation is slaughtered in the first minutes of ''Arc'' 2. Alec's hometown, [[spoiler: Romalia's capital city,]] is destroyed in the first cutscene of ''Arc'' 3. [[spoiler: Ironically, by the heroes of the previous episodes.]]* DyingAsYourself: [[spoiler: In her last moments, [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Mariel]], whose mind was supposedly wiped by Gallarno's MindControlDevice, manages to regain consciousness because she [[ThePowerOfLove can't bear the thought of hurting Elc]]]].* EldritchAbomination: [[BigBad The Dark One.]]* TheEmpire: Romalia is a Kingdom, but acts like a bona fide evil empire. It's actually a subversion since it has been a superpower for ten centuries, but became evil only one or two generations prior to the first game.** The Dilzweld empire in ''Twilight of the Spirits''.* EnemyWithout: [[spoiler: The {{Final Boss}}es of the first game are the dark selves of Arc and company, given as a test by the Ark to see if they are worthy of saving the world. The final battle itself takes place in an AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield.]]* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Sania is Millmana's princess; Kukuru, being Arc's betrothed, is technically Seirya's princess; Delma, being the Orcons' leader's sister might count as well.* EverythingsBetterWithSamurai: Tosh.* FantasticRacism: People from Holn are distrusted by the [[FantasyCounterpartCulture game's expy of Switzerland]] because of their ability to communicate with monsters. In ''Twilight of the Spirits'', Humans and Deimos are locked into a cold war that is pretty close to heating up. Deimos are intelligent humanoid monsters... and also [[spoiler: technically fully human: they can have children with humans and were created by altering the genetic material of humans gifted with spiritual powers.]]* FantasyCounterpartCulture: In ''Arc 1'' and ''Arc 2'' every character and country seems to have an obvious Earth counterpart.* FauxActionGirl: In ''Arc'' 2, Kukuru seems to have become this, but she later proves that she still can kick an enormous amount of ass when she [[spoiler: manages to invert her DemonicPossession and takes control of the BigBad's body long enough to allow Arc to seal it again, while she is ''already dead'']].* FloatingContinent: The flying castle, [[spoiler: the last dungeon of most games in the series]].* FromBadToWorse: Practically everything in ''Arc the Lad'' 2.* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Working Design's infamous "Sucking Diek" page header in the manual. [[NotWhatItLooksLike It's actually talking about how to share Diekbeck's]] [[DontExplainTheJoke accrued experience points with the party.]]* GuestStarPartyMember: In ''Arc'' 2 & 3, guest star party members are supposed to [[ChekhovsGunman become party members later]].* GlobalAirship: The Silver Noah, which is acquired very early during the first game. * AGodAmI: The BigBad sees himself that way. Then again, being an immortal EldritchAbomination gives you some credible reason to call yourself a god.* GratuitousNinja: Shu. is a paramilitary commando who specializes in ''gun'' use; he only uses the ninja schtick because...well, somebody's gotta be a ninja.* GreenAesop: [[PlayingWithATrope Zig-zagged]] between this and a SpaceWhaleAesop: Overusing natural resources weakened the Guardian Spirits of the planet and modern lifestyle have made people complacent to the point of forgetting that the EldritchAbomination which nearly destroyed the world 3,000 years prior is still alive and about to break free from its Spirits-powered prison: that's the {{Space Whale|Aesop}} part. On the other hand, during the course of the first two games, many subtle and not-so-subtle hints are dropped that overexerting natural resources is slowly but surely destroying the environment and that without change, Arc's world's modern civilization is doomed even without the [[BigBad Dark One]] readying itself for another genocidal rampage.* HeartbrokenBadass: After the events at the White House, [[spoiler: Elc becomes this.]]* HeroicSacrifice: This is how [[spoiler: Arc's father met his end]], and later [[spoiler: Arc and Kukuru do it as well]].* HeroWithBadPublicity: Arc ends the first game and begins the second as a wanted criminal, accused of both regicide (he was framed) and terrorism (for blowing up mind control devices disguised as landmarks and otherwise fighting against the Empire).* HoldTheLine: Shows up twice in ''Arc'' 2, first when you have to buy Shu some time to plant bombs; and again around the end of the game when you have to distract an army of monsters [[spoiler:so The Resistance can safely infiltrate Romalia.]]* InevitableTournament: Done in each of the [=PlayStation=] trilogy episodes.* InstrumentOfMurder: Poco's weapon of choice is a pair of cymbals.* InsurmountableWaistHeightFence: Averted during battles, since characters can jump above almost anything when they are leveled enough, but played straight the rest of the time.** This actually becomes an important thing to keep in mind in ''Arc'' 2, as there are a few treasure chests up on ledges or behind walls that become inaccessible if you don't jump up and grab 'em during battles.* LaResistance: Comes in no less than three flavors in ''Arc'' 2: there are resistance movements in countries occupied by Romalia, their is a resistance In Romalia proper, made by Romalians who disagree with the imperialistic ways of their country, and Arc's team is a third independent and very [[GlobalAirship mobile]] resistance.* LadyOfWar: Kukuru. Paulette and Delma from the fourth game might count as well.* LastOfHisKind: Elc is the last living Pyrenian.** Theo from ''Arc'' 3 is the last cardist.** Edda from ''End of Darkness'' is the last exorcist.* LazyBackup: Averted in the first game, where all your characters always take part in the fight. Played straight in the subsequent games: even when you have a dozen human characters and even more monsters, they do not take part in the battle. It's sometimes justified when the characters try to infiltrate enemy facilities, but ''why'' would they no go all out when they openly attack the BigBad stronghold?* LethalJokeCharacter: Poco is a musician. A ''cowardly'' musician who probably does not know how to handle a gun correctly. He is also the deadliest soldier of Seirya's army (Arc and Kukuru are not soldiers, Tosh is para-military).* LighterAndSofter: Arc 3 and later games are a fair bit lighter than Arc 2, though that is ''not'' a high bar to cross.* LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition: Ironically, this is the ONLY version of the [=PlayStation=] games to ever be sold outside Japan.* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: Inverted: Magic tends to be more useful early on, but physical attacks surpass them by the end of the games, when big bosses with tons of HP and great magical resistance appear.* MacGuffinDeliveryService: Happens more than once through the series.* MagicKnight: Every main character proves competent with weapons as well as with magic.* [[KnightTemplar Magic Knight Templar]]: Arc and Elc tend to be quite extreme in their ways of dealing with evildoers. Most CG cutscenes of the second game show things getting blown up. Guess who's responsible?* [[KnightInSourArmor Magic Knight Templar in Sour Armor]]: What happens to Arc and Elc as they struggle against Romalia.* MadScientist: Scientists in the Arc-verse do not seem to mind the fact that they are working for an EldritchAbomination and that their technology is used to commit several genocides: they even go as far as experimenting on themselves without any hesitation. The Academy of ''Arc'' 3 is a little more idealistic and ready to help mankind, but in the end, they do not fare much better.** Although, the way the cabal treat [[MrFixit Vilmer]] it's fair to say that not all scientists are enthusiastic about promoting Romalia's imperialism.* MagicMusic: Poco, a proud member of the Palencia army's... drum corps.* {{Magitek}}: Arc's world is close to the technology level of earth during the nineties, but the main source of energy are stones infused with the power of elemental spirits. [[TheEmpire Romalia]] uses mixes of genetic engineering and black magic to create its army of SuperSoldiers.* MagneticHero: Arc. {{Lampshaded}} when he arrives to save Poco, and Poco comments afterward that, with Arc there to inspire him, he suddenly felt like he could fight with his cymbals, and so he did.* TheManBehindTheCurtain: Gaidel, the King of Romalia, is one of the only fully human antagonists of ''Arc'' 2 and has no supernatural power whatsoever. His lack of power other than political is an important plot point.* MarathonBoss: Usually the last boss.* MarathonLevel: Usually the last dungeon. Do you notice the pattern?* MindControlDevice: In ''Arc'' 2, part of the AncientConspiracy consists of planting such devices ''everywhere''. One of the reason why Arc's TrueCompanions is called a terrorist group is because their basic strategy is to blow up such devices, even if [[IDidWhatIHadToDo they happen to be in the middle of a sprawling metropolis]]. * ModernStasis: The industrial revolution happened 1000 years prior to the first ''Arc the Lad''; yet apart from a few gadgets used by the Romalian military, technology never went beyond the level of the late twentieth century.* NintendoHard: The games are pretty challenging for anyone who's not used to strategy [=RPGs=], and the difficulty curve shoots through the roof with the final bosses. ** ''Arc'' 2's final boss is so strong that about the only way to beat him without hours and hours of extra level grinding is with a Romancing Stone-equipped Choko. * OneManArmy: Many characters follow this, and are usually smart enough to include this into their plan. It is even {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in the second game of the series:--> '''Shu''': I know someone who's rowdy enough to hold off ten guards. He can be a decoy while I set the bombs."\\'''Tosh''': Who are you talking about?\\'''Shu''': Uh, you, Tosh!* OldSaveBonus: ''Arc'' 1 was written with the intent of being able to import a clear data file into ''Arc'' 2. If you do, when the cast of the first game joins your party, they'll have all of their experience and equipment from the first game. ''Arc'' 3 also gives some benefits if you load an ''Arc'' 2 save at the final save point.** ''End of Darkness'' also unlocks a free character, [[spoiler: Lilia]], for having clear data from ''Twilight of the Spirits''.* OneGameForThePriceOfTwo: ''Arc'' 1 is essentially an extended prologue for ''Arc'' 2. The U.S. release, ''Arc The Lad Collection'', packages them both together and also throws ''Arc'' 3 in as well, so only the Japanese players had to buy them separately.** Somewhat understandable in the case of ''Arc'' I and ''Arc'' II. The creators were originally intending to make it as a UsefulNotes/PlayStation launch title. Unfortunately, their ambitions grew beyond their resources (not to mention the amount of time available), so they split the project into two games. Arc I managed to make the [=PlayStation=] launch, and Arc II came out later, and did the delay ever pay off.* OptionalPartyMember: Several, Choko being the most well known example.** Deikbeck in ''Arc'' 2 and ''Twilight of the Spirits''.** Anrietta in ''Arc'' 3* OrphanageOfFear: The facility code-named the White House. Unlike most examples of this trope, the kids are not openly mistreated by uncaring or sadistic people in charge (in fact, [[spoiler: one of its former managers, Vilmer, is shown to be a decent, loving grandfather]]); but when the employees are pretty much on [[EldritchAbomination Cthulhu's]] payroll, you know the facility hides very dark, horrific secrets.* PathOfInspiration: Another strategy used by the AncientConspiracy. When they don't create a false religion from scratch to control the masses, they [[CorruptChurch take control of existing ones]].* PerfectlyArrangedMarriage: Subverted: Before meeting him, Kukuru is not happy at all with the prospect of marrying Arc, and her rebellion against tradition is what starts the whole mess. By the end of the first game, she has fallen in love with Arc, but [[spoiler: they are now forced to become StarCrossedLovers because she has to stay in Seirya and maintain the weakening seal upon the Dark One while Arc keeps fighting Romalia all over the world]], and, by the end of the second game, [[spoiler: they can only be reunited in death]].* PersonOfMassDestruction: ** Choko is capable of going toe-to-toe with the Dark One, a monstrous EldritchAbomination capable of annihilating all life on the planet, and coming out on top.** Arc, Elc, and Gogen also qualify. Arc and Gogen's spirit magic, and Elc's [[PlayingWithFire Pyrenian magic]], are army-class threats.** [[spoiler: The BigBad himself was originally an ordinary human before turning into The Dark One.]]* PollutedWasteland: The whole country of Zariban: once a very fertile land due to the fact that the Water Spirit dwelt there and one of the first places to be resettled by humans after the species was nearly wiped out during the first war against the [[BigBad the Dark One]] 3000 years prior to ''Arc'' 1. By the time Arc arrives in the country for the first time, it has been reduced to a desert due to the excessive mining and processing of energy stones.* PostEndGameContent: ''Arc 5: End of Darkness'' has this. After beating the final boss and watching the ending, Edda wakes up in Milmarna and can watch a scene with the terrorist leader and visit Orcoth for a short story arc involving Kirika, Delma and Volk.* PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler:The ending of ''Arc the Lad'' 2. Let's have Elc explain it, shall we?]]-->[[spoiler:'''Elc''':]] [[spoiler: [[WasItReallyWorthIt It makes me wonder what we were fighting for. Arc died, and for what? So we could inherit this desolate and hopeless future? We didn't stop the world from ending, we survived it. And, now we are left with nothing.]]]]* [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld Really 3,000 Years Old]]: Gogen may look like an old man, but he's still in good shape for a guy who spent 30 centuries watching the prison of an EldritchAbomination. [[spoiler:Choko is one of the original monsters born during the games' {{Backstory}} and is therefore as old as Gogen.]] * RebelliousPrincess: Sania and Kukuru are princesses and ''wanted terrorists''. You could hardly get more rebellious than that!* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Arc, Kukuru, Sania from the first two games; Kharg and Darc in ''Twilight of the Spirits'' (Kharg is still a prince despite the fact that his country abolished the monarchy, and Darc intended from the beginning to kill his way to the top).* ScaryBlackMan: Gruga, a former freedom fighter who decided to never again his colossal strength except in sports tournaments, until his [[PapaWolf blind daughter]] was [[BerserkButton kidnapped]].* SceneryGorn: The ending of ''Arc'' 2 gives us a nice view of Romalia, which was the epicenter of the [[BigBad Dark One's]] attack on the planet. Oh yeah, and the [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Sky Castle]] fell on it and exploded after you beat him.* ScienceIsBad: Keep trying to make technological progress, even if you are well-intended, and you will eventually cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.* SealedBadassInACan: Gogen is this and SealedGoodInACan. He ''willingly'' sealed himself with the BigBad 3,000 years ago so he would still be around to fight again if the BigBad was released.* SealedEvilInACan: The Dark One.* SequelEscalation: The first game is quite short, takes place entirely on a relatively small continent with a total of seven party members. ''Arc'' 2 has you going all over the world, more than doubles the cast of characters, throws in a ton of side quests, and is crazy long.* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: Cruelly subverted in ''Arc'' 2. [[spoiler: Arc's dad gave his life to the spirits in order to time travel and do so. He failed.]]* SchizoTech: Machinegun-toting, IED-tossing ninja terrorists fighting alongside medieval knights. It has to be seen to be believed.* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: The first two episodes go waaaaaaaay down the cynical end, the third tries to be a little more idealistic, the fourth is again more cynical (but not as much as the second), the fifth tries again to be more idealistic. On the whole, the series remains mostly on the cynical side.* SmugSnake: Galarno, one of Romalia's generals (who serves his country by being a [[FridgeLogic a mob boss and politician on another continent]]) is the worst offender.* SolemnEndingTheme: ''Arc II'''s credit music, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_kQtYux_9s To Tomorrow]].* SpiritAdvisor: Arc is technically on the elemental spirits' payroll.* SpritePolygonMix: ''Arc III''.* StreetSamurai: Tosh is a Samurai tossed in a SchizoTech universe.* SummonMagic: Chongara can summon supernatural beings, and Arc's power comes from his ability to summon guardian spirits.** Theo's Cardish ability in ''Arc'' 3 is this.* SuperEmpowering: Arc's blessing from the Guardians and his companions' special powers make them a match for monsters that decimate normal armies.* SupportingProtagonist: Elc is clearly the protagonist of ''Arc 2'', but Arc is ultimately TheLeader and TheChosenOne.* SurprisinglyHappyEnding: The AnimeOfTheGame keeps many of the dark moments, but the ending is ''far'' happier than the game's. [[spoiler:Arc and Kukuru live, and the Dark One is defeated without destroying the world.]]* TakeOverTheWorld: Subverted: The BigBad does not want to control mankind: he already was in charge [[spoiler: before becoming an EldritchAbomination]], and [[spoiler: by controlling Romalia, he was once again the ruler of mankind at the beginning of ''Arc'' 1]]: the only problem is, this was '''not enough''' for him: what he wanted was control over the whole planet, including the whole ecosystem, even if it meant [[AGodAmI remaking it from scratch]].* ThereAreNoTherapists: The ''Arc'' series cast is even worse off than the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' cast, which is saying a lot.* TooLongDidntDub: Iga and Tosh's attacks.* TwentyBearAsses: A lot of the job sidequests in both ''Arc'' 2 and 3 are of this variety. * UrbanFantasy: The game doesn't draw a great deal of attention to the universe's 20th century tech, but neither does it try to hide it.* VillainDecay: The Dark One is not nearly as threatening when he appears after ''Arc 2''. [[spoiler: Arc and Kukuru's sacrifice]] didn't take him down for good, but it ''was'' clearly the tipping point that allowed later generations to take him down without so much loss and sacrifice.* WhamEpisode: A ton of them, especially in the first two episodes, mostly here to show that things [[FromBadToWorse are getting worse]].** Arrival at Saryu Village: For the first time, we are shown the devastating effects of the industrialization of Arc's world, with one of its most ancient human dwellings slowly dying from the pollution caused by the extraction and processing of energy stones. Then, out of the blue, [[spoiler: Romalia's air force razes the village, sends its turned-into-monsters super-soldiers to finish the job and find the key to the water shrine]]: it's the first time Arc's team is facing [[TheEmpire Romalia]] directly, the first time Arc displays some real anger, and the first punch thrown at the player.** The last trip to Seirya: [[spoiler: Andel fatally wounds Seirya's king, who confess that he is the one who sent Arc's father away in order to inherit the throne, Arc is framed for the King's murder, and Seirya turns into a police state controlled by Andel.]] If this was not enough [[spoiler: just after finding the Ark, Arc & co. have to give it up to Andel who uses the lives of Arc's mother and the other residents of Touvil as [[ManipulativeBastard a bargaining chip]], the seal on the [[BigBad Dark One]] starts breaking down, Kukuru has to remain hidden in the ruins of Touvil to maintain what remains of the seal in place, while the rest of Arc's group become wanted fugitives.]] [[CliffHanger The first episode ends here.]]** First scene of ''Arc'' 2: Elc's people get wiped out by Seirya's military.** [[spoiler:End of the White House story arc]]: Elc & co. appear successful at first, [[spoiler: rescuing Mariel and finding the other orphans; but at that point, Gallarno turns all the orphans into monsters, forcing Elc & co to kill them. Afterwards, Gallarno entraps Elc and [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Mariel]] and uses his MindControlDevice to force the two to fight, nearly destroying Mariel's mind in the process. When she manages to regain her consciousness because she [[PowerOfLove refuses to hurt Elc]], Gallarno uses a [[CrazyPrepared contingency plan]] and uses the bomb he had [[WhyAmITicking implanted in Mariel's body]], critically injuring Elc and leaving him nearly dead.]]* WeaponOfChoice: Played straight except in ''Arc'' 2, when characters have two or three weapons of choice.** While every other character in ''Arc'' 3 is limited to a single type of weapon, Alec averts this by being able to use any weapon in the game.* WorldOfBadass: Even the weakest, most cowardly member of the Seiryan drum corps becomes a fearsome MagicKnight and OneManArmy when pushed to take a stand, while the ''real'' heroes and villains are outright [[PersonOfMassDestruction Persons Of Mass Destruction]]. It takes entire ''civilizations'' populated by people like these to defeat the BigBad.* {{Wutai}}: Arc's country, Seirya, takes this role. High technology mixed with traditional samurais who protect the country's capital.* XanatosGambit: [[BigBad The Dark One]] pulls this off in Arc 2. If Arc and his companions fail to stop Romalia, he wins. If they succeed, which they do, [[spoiler: it pushes the fully human king to release the seal on the Dark One in a moment of desperation. The Dark One states after this happens that the final condition for his return was that a human needed to ''willingly'' release him, which they pushed the king to do by destroying his war machines and killing his demon generals.]]* YouNoTakeCandle: Chongara talks this way.